What's in a name?

Paul and I haven't really chosen names for our kids that are very common...well, Olivia may be number 3 on this year's top 100 baby names, but the rest of them aren't even on the top one-thousand. Anyway, we've been asked a lot lately how we've come up with our kids names. We will be the first to admit that naming a baby is a hard thing. They're going to be called that for the rest of their lives, pretty much. That's a lot of pressure for a parent. And, when you settle on a name and you tell someone, they sure have an opinion about it! For the last two, we've kept our "ideas" to ourselves for the most part. We usually knew what the middle name was going to be long before the first name. We feel it's important to honor those who will/have a significant influence on us and our children. Here are the stories on how we came up with their names.

Olivia Christine: For our first date, Paul and I went to a concert called Guitars Unplugged at BYU. I'm kind of sentimental and, since we were engaged and still at BYU a year after our first date, I wanted to go to Guitars Unplugged again. One of the guys that sang the previous year performed a song called Olivia. It was about his niece and how full of energy and bubbly she was while he was babysitting her. This song was a lullaby. I'm kind of a sucker for acoustic guitars, so I loved it! Paul bought me the CD, so we have it if anyone wants to hear our inspiration. Olivia's middle name, Christine, is my oldest sister's middle name (Megan Christine). After she passed away, I knew I wanted to use it as a middle name.

Aislee (Aze-Lee) Maureen: I'm the fourth of ten and the youngest girl, which means that I have 6 younger brothers. Talk about a lot of names to come up with! All ten of us have Irish names because my mother has strong Irish heritage. My mom had a few girl names waiting in the wings just in case...and she hasn't gotten to use them. One happened to be "Aislee". It's a Gaelic name similar to Ainsley and Ainsling. They mean "hermitage in or at the clearing or wood". We liked the sound of Aislee. We paired it with my mom's name which is my middle name. After the twins were born, I was at a department store shopping with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law when I heard a woman calling for "Aislee". I went over to her with the twins and introduced myself (very uncommon for me!) and introduced my little girls. Her Aislee was two, and she had a four year old named Olivia. Weird, uh? Side note:With the twins, they were officially named after the BIG ultrasound. We were told after that ultrasound that they wouldn't be moving around (like switching sides) much so I could name them according to what side they were one. Olivia was on my right and Aislee was on my left.

Ewan (You-win) Jeffrey: He may have been the hardest to name. We had a name picked out from the beginning, but about three weeks before he was born, Paul decided that there was a better name out there for his little guy. So, the search for the perfect name to fit with the others began. We went through our baby-name book, websites, friend and family suggestions several times. We decided on a middle name, Jeffrey, Paul's dad's name. He is a wonderful person and we hope that Ewan looks towards him (and his other grandpa) as a good example of a husband and father. The first name was a little more difficult. I really liked Ian, but Paul didn't like it so much. He liked Owen, but I didn't like it so much. Ewan was on our list and a possibility. By the second day in the hospital and several calls from Medical Records, we settled on Ewan Jeffrey.

Elin (Ee-lin) Stacey: This one was also kinda hard. We had two names that we had pretty much settled on, but we both liked one of them over the other. Paul was calling her one name and I was calling her the other name. There may have been a little brain-washing with the other kids for names. Also, a few people thought the baby was a boy after we told them one of the names as an option. Paul didn't really like that so much. After going to the hospital the first time, Paul decided that we really needed to settle on a name. Once again, we knew the middle name, Stacey, which is Paul's mother's name. We both agreed on Elin, which is Scandinavian for "light" or "knowledge". Now that we have to pay for college for four kids, she better be full of a lot of knowledge and get a scholarship!

And then there were six...!

In between contractions right before we left for the hospital

Chillin' in her safe place

Aislee getting to Elin in her safe place...

Elin Stacey

Olivia holding Elin

Ewan holding Elin

Ewan trying to carry Elin

Ewan watching Little Einsteins...way more interesting than the baby on the floor

Doing what she does best...

With Grandma

Olivia and Grandma

It was a struggle to get a good picture with Grandma

Ewan wasn't too interested in taking pictures.

So, we're here at home, by ourselves. My mom went back on Friday to give us some time to adjust to being a family of six. It's been a little bit of an adjustment. The girls love to hold Elin! I think once the novelty of the new baby wears off, I'll be able to feed her without them wanting to help so much. I'm glad that they're excited about her rather than not wanting her around. She has a safe place similar to Ewan's, but now the twins are a little better equipped to get to her. They get a  little nervous when she starts to cry and ask me to help her get quiet. Ewan gets interested for a few minutes, but then goes back to what he was doing. It's probably a good thing. Paul went back to work today. It hasn't been too bad so far. Elin sleeps a lot! She's pretty easy-going when the kiddos want to hold her. She's pretty quiet when she's awake, and really only cries when she gets a cold wipe on her bottom or while getting a sponge bath. We're still trying to coordinate nursing, but she's a good eater when she does. Elin does pretty well during the nights. She gets up twice, eats, gets a diaper change and then goes back to sleep without a lot of trouble. I seem to sleep better after the baby comes than the previous weeks leading upto delivery.We're doing okay. We're looking forward to Grandma Stacey's visit on Thursday, and miss Grandma Maureen. Thanks for the visit!

Pictures

She's twice as big as the twins, and a pound bigger than Ewan.

Yeah..sorry. It was a long night. I was kinda tired.

Getting toasty.

She has a lot of dark hair!

Getting acquainted.

The girls, Olivia, Mommy, Aislee and Elin.

My four little ones. Ewan just wanted to walk around the hospital.

And then there were six!

Three generations.

Aislee could not get enough baby time.

Long story...LONG (it's a labor story...you don't have to read)

In order to tell the story, I have to start from Tuesday morning, the 19th. Dr. Decker stripped my membranes the previous Friday and said, "I'll see you this weekend." Doctors really shouldn't give such promises! Anyway, all weekend I was having pretty good contractions, but nothing that would make me go to the hospital. Around 1:30am on Tuesday morning I was having contractions every two minutes. I waited to get Paul up because I didn't want to be sent home. I nudged him around 3:30am and told him what was going on and that I was getting in the shower to see if they'd go away if I was a little more relaxed. They didn't. We waited until the kids got up and we could arrange for someone to watch them until my Mom could get there that evening. She was planning on leaving the next day to come out with my brothers, but because I was in labor (or so we all thought) she was leaving the boys at home and flying to Tucson. We left for 45 minute drive to the hospital. My contractions weren't as frequent, but stronger. They checked and I was at a three. Dr. Decker was on call and had me walk around for an hour and get rechecked. I was still at a three. He had just gotten out of an emergency C-section and said he was very tired. He gave me some ambien and sent me home saying, "I'll see you sometime this week." He was right, I saw him at my appointment on Thursday. By then I was at a 4. He scheduled an induction on the 28th if nothing happened before then. For the next 4 days, I had contractions every ten minutes all day, and around one in the morning to four, was having contractions every one to two minutes. So, we made normal plans for the week. My Mom was wonderful enough to stay, let Paul and I go for walks and a date. We planned an anniversary outing, since we'd be celebrating our 4th. We went to bed Tuesday night anticipating our date the next day and induction the following. Around 12:30 I started getting contractions every minute. They were pretty uncomfortable, but contractions aren't comfortable. I waited...I really didn't want to get sent home again. They were getting stronger and I was having a hard time breathing through some of them. I nudged Paul. He must have sensed that things were different and started suggestioning we go in. I kept saying, "No, they'll just send me home." Finally, I couldn't talk, walk, and could hardly breathe during them. Paul convinced me. We got ready, told my mom we were leaving, and headed. It was now 3:30am and I was so not getting sent home! Tucson doesn't have a very good freeway system...well, one at all! Every turn, pot hole, or stop light became very uncomfortable. We finally got there, checked in at triage, and monitored. The nurse asked me what I was at the last time I was checked. I told her, and she said, "Well, honey you're at 6-7 and 90%. You just won yourself a ticket!" I was glad not to be sent home, but a little nervous about getting the epidural in time. My mom had just told me the day before that she would go from a 7 to a 10 in one contraction. Everything happened really fast. They told me that I was very important and they were going to get everything ready very quickly. Dr. Decker was on call and wanted me to have my epidural as soon as I got to my room. He was in a C-section and would come and check on me right after I got my epidural. I had to wait a few minutes for my labs. My epidural really wasn't as good as it was the last times. They had me tilted to one side so a lot of the fluid went to my left side and I was able to feel the contractions in a pocket around my right hip. So they rotated me to my right side. Dr. Decker checked, I was still at a 7, and he had to run and take his three kids to school. By the time he got back, my contractions were pretty good on the right side. Paul kept asking if I felt like pushing. I was now at a 9. Dr. Decker broke my water, and we waited a little while. He came back in to see me breathing heavily through a contraction and said, "Lets get this baby out." It's really weird to feel contractions on only one side of your body. I couldn't move my left leg at all, but I could move just about everything on my right side! Once the pushing started, I just focused on that. She was out in less than five minutes. She cried for a little while. She has a good set of lungs on her. I got to hold and feed her right after.  She is a very good eater when she eats. She sleeps a lot, and is a little confused about night and day. We'll work that one out. It was a really neat experience. Paul was a very good coach and held my hand during the contractions that were not so fun. The twins are excited for "their baby". Ewan is just glad Mommy's lap isn't so crowded! The staff has been wonderful and very helpful. We're glad everything worked out. It was a wonderful anniversary present! We're still looking forward to going on a date. This time, we'll just be bringing a little one with us.

Welcome welcome Baby Elin!

Elin Stacey Burkinshaw
April 27, 2011
8lbs 4 oz
18 1/2 inches

Pictures! Finally!

We weren't able to get our camera's software to work on any of our computers, so we ordered an SD-USB reader. We're hoping it works for a while. We don't have much to report. Everyone is doing fine. Paul is getting ready for an exam this weekend. I have promised not to go into labor until after Saturday. I've been having contractions at night that last a couple hours but then stop. I feel like the baby has dropped (more frequent trips to the bathroom) and things are progressing, but probably not that fast. I walked around at a 3-4+ with Ewan for a couple weeks before anything really happened. Every appointment my doctor would say, "See you tonight. You're water's gonna break sometime in the next couple of hours. If not, which I doubt, I'll see you in two days." Yeah, I saw him every two days for a week and a half! I've asked him not to get my hopes up and that I would let him know when I was in labor. He just laughed and said that he trusted me. We have everything ready for this little person except a going-home outfit. I'm still trying to find the perfect outfit. The girls came home in preemie outfits, so I can't really reuse 'em. I have a little boy outfit, just in case. The twins are basically potty-trained. We've been working on it for almost a week. I remind them every so often, and we run to the bathroom. They're doing better at letting me know when they need to go. Ewan doesn't like not being included in things. He can now reach the door knobs, so I have to lock the bathroom when I'm helping the girls. It gets a little crowded with three under three and a big pregnant lady! He gets rather angry and sticks his little hands under the door and cries, "momma...! iaaahhh!" He calls the twins collectively "I-a". He knows who's who, too. Well, onto the pictures!

They will push anything/anyone around the island in the kitchen.

Enjoying March in AZ.

He's such a goof!

Paul will push them around in the wheel barrel while I make dinner. They really enjoy it!

Someday we'll have grass...well, artificial grass!

Helping Daddy with their shovels.

I have a lot of pictures of the twins sleeping. I decided that I needed some good ones of Ewan.

Pictures from when the Uncles came. We went to the zoo. There's a tiger in their somewhere!

Enjoying some goldfish while looking at the animals.

Kett pushed Ewan around, and kept stealing his goldfish.

The elephants. Ewan loves to make elephant noises.

The giraffe. We were going to feed them, but the line was really long!

Ewan just as cute as can be!

Checking out the rhino.

Zebras.

We stopped and looked at the huge fish and the ducks.

Olivia kept calling them NEMO.

Dancing with Uncle Rand.

Olivia, Kett, Ewan and Aislee.

Aislee, Rand, Ewan and Olivia.

Preschool. The girls wanted to color Rainbows while the boys wanted to stay in the playroom with the racecars.

One of the little guys in preschool.

We've been watching Incredibles in the car. So...we had to be super heroes when we got home. I don't think they understand why the Incredibles do not have capes.

Pretending to be asleep.